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That certainly is your motif, the red and white carnations.

Yes. Well, it's the only thing that makes anything gay looking. And at the concert, we gave red and white carnations to everyone who came in -- everyone who would accept one. Most people couldn't believe these were being given anything.

The performers were Isaao Stern, who is of course one of the greatest violinists alive, and Van Cliburn who is from Texas and fortunately one of the greatest piano players alive. I doubt that the President ever sat through a concert before, but he was in extremely good humor and very interested in the playing of Mr. Cliburn.

Are you implying that he isn't very interested in music?

No, he isn't very interested in music and, as far as I know, seldom goes to the theatre, and never to the opera. I think he would actually like all these things if he had, as a young man, been more exposed to them. But he has worked very, very hard all his life, been extremely busy and had fantastic responsibilities, he's been interested in other things and never been forced to be involved in anything of this area.

That's one area of his life that hasn't been